Study Monster Cultivation System-Chapter 296 - 295, such a cool forum, such a poor Big Chap

Lin Yujing had just cracked the door open when a shadow darted out, craning its neck to survey the corridor before twisting back and pouncing to sniff around Lin Yujing’s feet.

"It’s Mom, it’s Mom..." Lin Yujing quickly bent down, lovingly picking up Wang Cai and first sniffing her neck to confirm she only smelled normally bad, then touched her belly, finally breathing a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness, thank goodness..."

Afterwards, Lin Yujing knocked on the door a few more times before finally entering the house with Wang Cai, making sure to lock the door behind her.

While locking the door, she unfortunately saw the stacked sticky notes.

[My child...]

[You said you’d take care of the cat and I shouldn’t worry.]

[But do you know how long I’ve been scooping poop?]

[Wife...]

[You said you take care of the home and love the kids.]

[But do you know how many years I’ve done the housework?]

[That’s not important... but... how come I can’t even see you guys anymore...]

[I can’t take it anymore... I’m going out to a meeting.]

[Actually, I don’t even need to leave a note for this.]

[After all, the first person who sees these notes]

[Will still be me...]

[T.T]

[— Li Yi]

[2019.9.2, 08:25]

Lin Yujing looked at the note, feeling the entire message radiated a sense of "tragic."

She flipped further.

[Haven’t used my hiking gear in a long while; today I went on a hike alone.]

[One of you talks about going away for a year to build rockets, the other says going off to help Africa for a month...]

[Hey, nobody will probably see this anyway...]

[— Li Yi]

[2019.9.1, 19:42]

...

[Wang Cai is making a fuss again, does anyone care to manage?]

[Say something, it’s been a while and it’s just me alone...]

[— Li Yi]

[2019.8.31, 4:14]

...

She flipped through seven or eight notes, all self-conversations by Li Yi.

Such bleak message threads.

Such a tragic Big Chap.

Lin Yujing felt sorry, she picked up a pen from the shoe cabinet and forcefully replied in an imitation of Li Zheng’s handwriting.

[Dad, don’t be sad. I’ll come home and spend some good time with you after this job is done.]

[Also, prepare a set of gear for me too, let’s go hiking together!]

[That’s if you take good care of Wang Cai (crossed out) Jing.]

[Otherwise, I won’t talk to you anymore!]

[— Lin (crossed out) Li Zheng]

[2019.9.3, 19:07]

After posting the note, Lin Yujing finally changed into slippers, cautiously entering the house while stroking Wang Cai’s fur.

Speaking of which, she hadn’t had the chance to properly look at the place before as she had to run away last time.

It was a three-bedroom apartment just over a hundred square meters, clearly the decor was a bit old, lots of stuff placed around but still not cluttered, probably Big Chap’s doing.

Speaking of which, Big Chap really didn’t treat Wang Cai badly, the living room housed a cat litter house, an automatic water dispenser, and a feeder. The reservoirs for water and food were still full, enough to last a week or two.

But Lin Yujing still took the time to clean up and refill everything.

Afterwards, Wang Cai, like a boss giving a tour of his turf, dashed into the master bedroom and turned back, meowing.

Lin Yujing too took the chance for a quick peek, but her eyes eventually fixed on a photo frame on the wall.

It held a family portrait from their youth to the present.

The very first one was a young photo of Big Chap and Scary Chap (An Ning), most likely taken at university. Both looking quite handsome and refined.

Especially Scary Chap, with a cool demeanor and sharp eyes, already exuding a stressful and fearsome aura then.

As the photos progressed, Big Chap’s features matured, while Scary Chap’s sharpness gradually softened.

Until one day, they were happily huddled together holding a chubby baby.

"Giggle..." Lin Yujing covered her mouth and laughed, pulling out her phone and snapping a pic of the chubby baby.

Looking at Scary Chap in the photos, her face was full of maternal love, no hint of intimidation anymore.

Lin Yujing knew, of course, that it was all an illusion, Scary Chap had merely hidden her fearsome aura for a time.

With Li Zheng growing up each year, Lin Yujing’s suspicions were confirmed.

Across the wall of photos, Big Chap’s aging from youth to middle age appeared smooth and linear.

But Scary Chap, it was like a mutation, every photo showing more and more white hair, the sharpness of her youth reemerging on her face.

"Hmm..."

The more Lin Yujing looked, the more frightened she became.

She thought of her own mother.

"It’s over, it’s been suppressed again."

"Li Zheng’s mom is scarier than my mom."

By the time Lin Yujing saw the most recent photo, she was shivering,

Without a doubt, Scary Chap was the apex of the food chain in this house.

Better not meet face to face... too scary.

As Lin Yujing thought about it, she felt somewhat wronged and started texting her own mom.

[Lin Yujing: Be tougher on Li Zheng! (screaming)]

[Shen Tinglan: ??? Did he bully you?]

[Lin Yujing: Might as well say he did, he’s going to in the future anyway.]

[Shen Tinglan: Who would dare be harsh to him, Secretary Zhao has told us all to cooperate with you guys.]

[Lin Yujing: Not really harsh, the kind that scares him.]

[Shen Tinglan: Then I’ll give it a try (covers mouth and laughs)]

[Lin Yujing: Otherwise, I’ll be at a loss.]

[Shen Tinglan: Hmm... By the way, where are you? Did you go home?]

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

[Lin Yujing: I went home.]

[Shen Tinglan: But I’m looking at our car’s location, it seems to be in a residential area, looks like it’s near the Ministry of Science and Technology?]

[Lin Yujing: It’s the GPS’s fault, blame Yellow 2!]

[Shen Tinglan: (covers mouth and laughs)]

After putting down her phone, Lin Yujing felt even more irritated.

She felt like she was at the bottom of the food chain.

No, she had to retaliate against someone even lower.

She snuck into Li Zheng’s room.

Without saying a word, she first rolled around on the bed with Wang Cai, leaving it completely covered in cat fur.

What she didn’t know was that Li Yi always washed the sheets regularly.

Then she ran to the desk, opened several pen caps of signing pens, ensuring that Li Zheng would only find dried-up pens when he wanted to use them, and could do nothing but fret.

She didn’t know that the pens were also always bought by Li Yi.

Finally, Lin Yujing didn’t know what else to do, so she just hopped around barefooted on Li Zheng’s pillow for a while.

Wang Cai lay on the windowsill, watching her like she was an idiot, the entire cat stunned.

After getting her revenge, Lin Yujing picked up Wang Cai and kissed him.

Then...

She naturally walked to Li Zheng’s desk and eyed the only locked drawer.

"Hehe..." she chuckled wickedly as she pulled out a keychain, inserted the smallest key, and indeed, it unlocked with a twist.

"Hmm," Lin Yujing licked her lips.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

[Li Zheng: My mom’s back, run!]

"!!!" Lin Yujing instantly experienced a severe frizz out, along with Wang Cai.

She hurried to the door, grabbed her backpack, and hastily put on her shoes.

But just as she opened the door, she froze.

That’s not right.

How could it be such a coincidence?

It must be Scum Chap’s calculation."

He knew she would definitely peek inside the drawer, so he falsely claimed that Scary Chap was returning to make her flee without looking.

Moreover, it was clearly stated in Big Chap’s posts that he was away for a month, and it had only been a few days.

Ha, little did Scum Chap know, he was sold out by Big Chap!

Alright, fear not.

So, Lin Yujing confidently returned to the bedroom.

The more Li Zheng hid, the more she anticipated.

Could it be something like a diary?

This was definitely something she had to see.

Without anyone watching, then what’s the point of the diary?

Whoosh!

The drawer opened.

It was a sketchbook.

Lin Yujing flipped through the notebook.

The first page was an awfully ugly side portrait.

It looked like a child’s drawing, seemingly depicting a long-haired person dying on a desk in a contorted position.

The second page was much the same.

The third page showed some improvement.

...

It wasn’t until the seventeenth page that Lin Yujing realized.

It was her!

So it wasn’t a crime scene drawing after all?

...

The thirtieth page, she finally could make out a figure— it looked like someone who had learned art...

...

The second book, the eighth page.

Hmm, this one looked rather nice.

The twelfth page, finally she had changed her pose.

The fifteenth page, haha, she was covering her face with a curtain.

The twentieth page, ??? Why did it turn into Zhang Xiaoke???!!!

The twenty-first page, Zhang Xiaoke seemed to have put on weight.

The twenty-fifth page, hahaha, fat to death.

The twenty-sixth page, Liu Xin picking nails!

The twenty-seventh page, Jiang Qinghua... in... isn’t that the thing you only find in men’s toilets? What is he wiping?

Ahhhhhh!!

...

Finally, she flipped all the way to the forty-fifth page.

It was a fictional group photo, the basketball six-member group, plus a Zhang Xiaoke with a camera, huddled together, each with a bright smile on their face.

Each person’s characteristics were exaggerated, giving it a comic-like feel.

Liu Xin was all greasy, Mengxi looked sweetly silly, Bixia was heavily muscular, Xiaoke’s little chubby leg was licking her lips, Qinghua’s face wasn’t drawn.

As for Scum Chap and herself, they were standing in the middle, close together.

Close together...

Lin Yujing’s emotions instantly became a mix of joy and anger.

Anger, because Li Zheng’s drawing skills had become so refined that he could freely express any scene he imagined.

Bullying!

Joy, but...

Forget joy, just anger.

Angry as she was, Lin Yujing still took several photos.

Just as she was about to put the album back, she made a new discovery.

"Hmm?"

It turned out that under the album, there was also a stack of colored printed papers.

She picked one up to look.

Incredible!

It was a fund earnings report.

From more than a decade ago, all the way up to this year.

According to the data, every year, about a month after the Spring Festival, Li Zheng would buy around ten thousand yuan worth of funds.

This must be New Year’s cash gifts, right?

There are so many people in the Chap family, they sure can reproduce.

As she looked through them one by one, Lin Yujing’s expression grew worse and worse.

Initially, it was just accumulating one or two thousand more...

But it seems there was a stock market boom one year...

Suddenly it doubled...

Then there was some fallback...

And then it doubled once again.

All in all, adding it up, by the most recent report in 2019...

[August 31, 2019.]

[Your fund market value: 382,716]

Whoosh!

Lin Yujing, frightened, threw down the report.

Rich...

A rich second generation!

How could he have so much money?

But thinking about it carefully, saving ten thousand a year didn’t seem like a big deal, as she also spent about that much each year...

But why could Scum Chap save it up...

It’s only been over a decade, so how did it become almost 400,000...

In any case...

Scum Chap is really too wealthy...

His mother had worked so hard for so long just to afford a car...

Now, Scum Chap could easily buy the same one just like that.

Such an upstart!

Amidst shock.

Click, click!

Suddenly, the sound of a key being inserted came.

Lin Yujing leaped up, her fur standing on end like a cat that explodes into fluff when a giant Chap suddenly appears behind it while stalking prey.

Without thinking further, she quickly put the report and the album back in their place and locked the drawer.

There was also knocking on the door outside.

"Is Li Zheng back?"

Lin Yujing was thrown into an awkward state, and she immediately opened the window, looking down anxiously and earnestly.

Although it was the equivalent of ten-plus floors high, as long as she moved like Cheng Long, rolling around on the air conditioners, there was a chance to land safely.

This risk, compared with running into Scary Chap, seemed acceptable.

Just as she was looking for the best escape route, Li Zheng suddenly called.

"Why haven’t you left? My mom asked me to open the door..."

"Shh!!!" Lin Yujing crouched in the corner with a crying tone, "I... I played with Wang Cai a bit longer..."

"Okay, then you open the door, just say you were entrusted by me to look after the cat, it’s fine."

"It’s not fine!" Lin Yujing stuttered, "Scary... your mom looks terrifying in the photos..."

"Not at all, she’s very kind."

"No way... I’d better jump out the window..."

"Haha, stop kidding, I’ll call my mom again to explain, just open the door."

"No no, wait..."

The call had already been disconnected, and the ringtone of a mobile phone chimed outside the door.

At that moment, Lin Yujing knew, it was all too late.

If she locked Scary Chap outside and jumped out the window alone now, she might face even worse bullying later...

With no choice left, she tidied her hair, put her fur back in place neatly, put on her backpack properly, went back to the door, and, steeling herself, opened it.

"Auntie, I’m sorry..." Lin Yujing couldn’t bear to look up, and just kept her head down, apologizing profusely.

An Ning had just hung up the phone, and seeing Lin Yujing’s demeanor, she laughed: "What’s there to be sorry about, the house is a mess, I’m sorry."

"No... no..." Lin Yujing hurried aside to let An Ning in, "Well... I’ve fed the cat, so I’ll be leaving now."

"Have some food." An Ning suggested, holding a bag of semi-prepared food, "I can’t finish it myself."

"No need, no need..." Lin Yujing hurriedly shook her head, "Weren’t you... supposed to be in Africa... the time doesn’t even add up for a round trip... "

"Hey, the tribes started fighting suddenly... We turned back before even reaching Africa."

"That was close..." Lin Yujing said as she shuffled a few steps towards the door, "You rest well, I’m leaving..."

"Alright then." An Ning did not insist on her staying, but smiled and said, "Keep an eye on Li Zheng for me, and if he dares to bully you, tell me."

"??..." Lin Yujing’s expression changed, and only then did she dare to look up at An Ning.

Although there were many white hairs, she wasn’t as scary as in the photos.

"What, did he really bully you?" An Ning asked with concern, putting down her things, "Tell me, and I’ll beat him up."

"Uh... not too much, just the usual bullying."

"That’s not okay either." An Ning quickly picked up her phone, "Wait, I’ll scold him first."

"Ah, no need, Auntie, I’m leaving now."

"Alright, you go your way, I’ll scold mine."

"Hehe..."

That was when Lin Yujing laughed and entered the elevator.

Overthinking, it’s all in the family.

Meanwhile, Li Zheng was working as usual when An Ning suddenly called and started scolding him right off the bat.

"How did you bully Lin Yujing again?"

"?????"

"Look how pitiful she looks, she was almost crying with her head down, I can’t stand it...even Wang Cai looked less miserable."

"She was pretending..."

"You can’t pretend that. Don’t you know you should be gentler with girls? Your dad’s example is right in front of you, why don’t you learn from him?"

"My dad... he’s a bad example..."

"How is he a bad example? Look how happy he is, happy in his family life and personally."

"Hmm... maybe..." Li Zheng hesitated, "This... shouldn’t we consider the standpoints? If I always let her have her way, won’t my status be very low?"

"Men should be like that, why can’t you learn more from your dad? Look at Lin Yujing, such a good girl, what’s wrong with letting her have her way?!"

"Wait... she’s not your son, I am. Shouldn’t you be considering this from my perspective?"

"I don’t care, you just can’t bully her. If I see her that miserable again, I’ll scold you."

"..."

"Hey, I know you’re not afraid of being scolded by me, so let’s try a different approach. Follow your dad’s lead and do the house chores. Each time you mess up, it’ll be a week of chores, just like having a license with 12 penalty points."

"Don’t!!!"

Finally, Li Zheng hung up the phone with an innocent face.

Ironically, he was the one who felt most aggrieved.

Just going about his regular 7x24 routine, not bothering anyone, and yet how had his status come to this?

...

The next morning, when he saw Lin Yujing again, she seemed even more assertive than usual, acting all high and mighty, and was very reluctant to return the keys he had asked for several times.

After breakfast, Li Zheng couldn’t hold back anymore.

"You must stop playing the innocent in front of my mom," Li Zheng said coldly, wiping his mouth, "Your fox-assuming-tiger-power won’t work on me."

"Scum," Lin Yujing smirked. "Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve hidden."

"Exactly..." Li Zheng shrugged nonchalantly, "It’s just some sketching practice, randomly drawing from a pleasant angle, that’s all."

Lin Yujing narrowed her eyes, "Is it necessary to stick that close when you’re just blindly drawing?"

"..."

"As for status, it’s already quite clear," Lin Yujing tapped lightly on the table, "There’s no need to struggle anymore, Scum Chap."

"One drawing doesn’t prove anything," Li Zheng suddenly remembered something, "You didn’t see what was below it, did you?"

"Ah... no..." Lin Yujing quickly shook her head, "I didn’t get a chance to look."

"That’s good." Li Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, "I didn’t want to reveal my hand this early."

"..." Now it was Lin Yujing’s turn to feel lucky.

Indeed, to them, 400,000 was a huge amount for high school students.

Li Zheng did not want anyone to know that he was a rich man, as it could spoil friendships.

Lin Yujing was even less willing to admit Li Zheng was wealthy, as it would place him in a position of power within their Chap clan, disadvantaging her own status.

So this huge sum of money remained hidden in plain sight.

The battle continued.

Until the evening of the sixth day of their internship.

In the quiet computer room, where Li Zheng was checking some backend software data, his eyes suddenly widened.

Then, like a madman, he grabbed the mouse and slammed it down on the table.

"Done!"

This sudden excitement made He Zhongrui unable to sit still either, and he got up and moved towards Li Zheng.

He thought Li Zheng was just making a big deal out of a minor breakthrough in learning algorithms.

Little did he know, Li Zheng had actually been targeted by Zhuangzi for nearly two thousand hours and had finally taken the step.

"What, the new software works?" He Zhongrui asked, looking at the screen.

"That was three days ago," Li Zheng said excitedly, staring at the screen, "The analysis results are successful, reliable results!"

"Ah?" He Zhongrui couldn’t quite grasp the shock, only feeling it somewhat unreasonable. "Do the people at Institute No. 11 know?"

"They told me; they sent me the results." Li Zheng stood up and grabbed He Zhongrui’s shoulders, "It worked, it really did!"

"Ah... yes... I guess..."

"Aren’t you happy?" Li Zheng picked up the papers on the table and tossed them in the air, "We don’t have to do these anymore, it worked!"

"Ah, don’t throw them..." He Zhongrui, seeing Li Zheng losing control, could only sadly turn to Lin Yujing, "Xiao Lin, do something..."

But Lin Yujing had already picked up the biggest pile of documents, struggling to hold them up, a face full of destructive glee.

"Stop, stop, stop!!" He Zhongrui was almost crying, "Those are what we were supposed to be working on... please..."

"Hmm!" Lin Yujing flung them at He Zhongrui, yelling, "Depth! Charge! Bomb!"

Suddenly, the computer room was filled with flying printer paper, their work scattered all over the place, a true end-of-the-world situation.

Gasping for air, Lin Yujing clapped her hands, "That felt good... I’ve wanted to do that to these damn data for a long time..."

The three engineers just stared at them, not sure if they should join in...

He Zhongrui completely broke down, simply sitting on the floor.

Like a man who had been bullied for years and had finally succumbed.

"I can’t do this anymore... I’ve had it..." he sobbed, covering his mouth, "I’m going to tell the director... I’ll tell him everything you’ve done these days!"